[tudedude]

Thanks a lot for chiming in with your valuable experience!

I mostly used basscannons/basshead as a word of mouth I am not sure I am the basshead that headphone manufacturers aim for when they make stuff like the Cascade which is way too boosted in the lowend to me.

I really prefer a good thump kick midbass boost similar to what Kennerton Magni, Ultrasone Pro 900 delivers where Ultrasone Pro 900 comes out on top with the subbass being more engaging and sounding more punchy to subbass driven music.

But its hard because most headphones in that pricerange does have neutral subbass and midbass boost, I want both while retaining clarity in highs.

It sounds to me like the Denon will give more depth to the subbass (which sounds like warm to me) and Focal Radiance will have more kick/thump/attack to the midbass. Tough choice.

I think I'm similar in that good bass is a requirement for me. I can no longer stomach headphones that have below neutral bass signatures and yet many of them get so much high praise around here for some reason.

Then Denon will shine If you listen to music with a lot of sub bass. Here's a graph. To "audiophiles" it might be bassy and warm but it really isn't.

Here's the Radiance. It has a thicker overall sound and that boosted midbass gives it just the right amount of color for me without going from warm to muddy.

I mostly listen to the Denon when I want the clarity and separation of an open back with the bass and extension that I can't get from and open back(in my price range). The downside is the lack of a deep soundstage. If I want more bass, dynamics, and warmth, with better soundstage and layering I go with the Radiance. They're more different than similar. A good pairing.

 

[dezzadk]

@tudedude I was wondering what music do you enjoy on your Focal Radiance? Maybe it would be easier to understand what you are saying in comparison with a few tracks

 

[tudedude]

@tudedude I was wondering what music do you enjoy on your Focal Radiance? Maybe it would be easier to understand what you are saying in comparison with a few tracks

More pop and current stuff. Groups like Cannons, Wolf Alice, Japanese House, Pale Waves, Purity Ring, Caroline Polachek, Glass Animals, 1975, War on Drugs. I rarely listen to classical or jazz. I don't listen to classical rock either.

Smile from Wolf Alice is a good example of a song that works better on the Radiance than the Denon.

On the Denon the drums, bass, and vocals all feel like they're on a flat wall of sound. There's not enough highs and subbass in the song to create depth. The Radiance's punch and dynamics give that song much more depth. Some has to do with that dip and the 200 range that recedes the vocals and mids away from the bass I think.

A song like Clean fron The Japanese House sounds amazing on the Denon.

The song really shows off the 9200s clarity and separation. The song's highs and subbass hits allow the Denon shine. The song still sounds great on the Focal, but tilts it to warm which I don't think is the song's true vibe.